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'R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja can dismiss him in his dreams,' Sourav Ganguly takes a swipe at Usman Khawaja - Times Now

Sourav Ganguly took a swipe at Australian batsman over his dismal run against Indian in the current Test series | Photo - AP/BCCL/BCCL&nbsp

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly took a dig at the current Australian batting line-up after their failure in the 3rd Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Taking a swipe at Aussie batsman Usman Khawaja, Ganguly said he has been found out by the Indian bowling attack to an extent that he must have been having nightmares of facing the Indian bowlers again in the fourth and final Test match of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Ganguly reckoned that the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner is clearly being missed in the Australian line-up but stressed that the batting attack still looks a strong one and that the players need to step up if they have to stop India from claiming the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Australia were twice bundled out in the 3rd Test managing to score 151 and 261 runs in the two innings respectively with India earning a thumping 137-run victory to retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy and take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series.

"The current batting lineup of Australia sans David Warner and Steven Smith is still born and brought up in the country and hence is in no ways weak. But it's ironic that they are failing as a unit for quite some time now. Usman Khawaja has been found out by the Indian attack to the extent that even if he is asleep, Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja can dismiss him in his dreams," Ganguly was quoted as saying by India TV.

None of the Australian batsmen except for Pat Cummins, who scored a gritty 63 runs in the second innings, could stage a fight against a disciplined Indian bowling attack as Jasprit Bumrah ran through the visitors' line-up finishing with total nine wickets including career-best figures of 6 for 33 in the first innings. Bumrah's lethal pace combined with variations troubled the Australian batsmen throughout the course of the match.

Meanwhile, Khawaja, who was touted to score more runs than Virat Kohli in the Test series by Ricky Ponting, has struggled heavily against spinners and was undone by Jadeja in Australia's first innings at the MCG before giving away his wicket to Mohammed Shami in the second innings. The Australian to order is likely to see a change in the fourth Test as Marnus Labuschagne has been included in the squad.

Former greats including the likes of Ricky Ponting and Mark Waugh have predicted Aaron Finch's ouster from the final Test in place of spin all-rounder Labuschagne on a slow and dry SCG track, which will prove effective for spinners. The fourth Test between India and Australia begins from January 3.